Back in July 2021 I wrote an article for the AIER arguing that the best way to understand the lockdown phenomenon was as a form of ‘kitsch’. The core of this observation was a passage from Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being, in which he describes kitsch as being at the heart of any significant political phenomenon.
“Kitsch,” as Kundera puts it, “is the aesthetic ideal of all politicians and all political parties and movements.” This is because kitsch is fundamentally about shared emotion. What makes something kitschy is not just the feeling one experiences from looking at it; it is that feeling combined with the awareness that the same feeling is collectively shared. When one is moved, one sheds a tear; kitsch inheres in the awareness that the rest of mankind is moved in the same way, and sheds a tear too. This creates a powerful bond that transcends space and time: when Bob looks at the Mona Lisa and is moved, and knows that anybody else from the past, present and future looking at the painting is moved in the same way, he knows that he is united with them in a swell of shared emotion despite it never being possible for them to have physically met.
This phenomenon, Kundera tells us, is at the root of politics, and it is easy to see why. Consider libertarians, united with one another in being moved by the importance of freedom and knowing that they are bonded with fellow free spirits across the globe and across the ages who feel the same way. Or, at the opposite end of the spectrum, think of contemporary ‘woke’ activists, imbued both with a sense of outrage over some perceived injustice, and the sensation that the same rush of emotion is felt by legions of likeminded but anonymous brethren across the world. The point is not that the individual has very good, rational reasons for adopting whatever political stance he adopts, nor even that he has very strong feelings per se, but rather that he has strong feelings which he knows are part of a much wider collectivity of emotion. A great novelist can often provide more insight in a single sentence than a thousand political philosophers or psychologists working for a year; so it is with Kundera’s conclusion that “political movements rest not so much on rational attitudes as on fantasies, images, words, and archetypes that come together to make up this or that political kitsch”.
It’s always a gratifying thing to have one’s views confirmed by events. And so they have been recently with the news that the U.K.’s official public inquiry into the preparations and response to the Covid pandemic is going to have a commemorative tapestry created so as to accompany its work – and framed in terms that are absolutely redolent with kitsch.
First, of course, we get the feelings – and almost nothing but feelings. “I hope [the tapestry] will speak to a range of experiences and emotions,” the curator, Ekow Eshun, tells us, from “pain and loss to courage, hope and devotion”. Baroness Hallett, the Chair of the Inquiry, likewise insists that what is important in the project is “capturing individual and shared stories” of “hardship and loss”. Andrew Crummy, the famous Scottish tapestry artist, meanwhile lets us know what a “real honour” it has been to “help give voice to [the] stories” of bereaved families. And a representative of an organisation called Long Covid Kids expresses the hope that the tapestry will communicate how Covid “is an unseen shadow” hanging over “the suffering”. The same theme emerges again and again of validating and partaking (often vicariously) in the emotions of those who “suffered” during the pandemic, and becoming filled with compassion for those unfortunate people accordingly. “In the realm of kitsch,” as Kundera reminds us, “the dictatorship of the heart reigns supreme.”
But we also, of course get what makes kitsch kitsch in the first place – the sense of the importance that emotions are shared. Sammie McFarland, the Long Covid Kids representative, expresses this neatly in stating the desire that the tapestry will “weave our experiences together”. And this objective is indeed all over the project itself. Again and again we see emphasised the theme of togetherness and sharing, often in transcendental form, whether it be Eshun’s vision of a “tapestry [weaving] the threads of these stories, across the nations and regions, into a lasting tribute”, Delia Bryce (representative of a bereaved group) and her expressed hope that “those that see [the tapestry] in years to come will understand why it’s important our loved ones lost to COVID-19 should never be forgotten”, or Baroness Hallett’s historicist interpretation of her own mission as being to unite past, present and future in commemorating “hardship and loss” and keeping those feelings “at the heart of the Inquiry’s ongoing procedures”.
The image that comes to mind is clear: a physical object that will move the onlooker who observes the painful emotions depicted therein, and also move her in knowing that all other onlookers – past and future, wherever they are found – will be moved in the same way. The tapestry, in other words, will be an instantiation of kitsch par excellence, serving to unify a national collective in a common emotional response to the suffering that was endured by the pandemic’s victims and their loved ones.
Kitsch, then, continues to inform a powerful political movement, which it seems safe to label ‘lockdownism’: the idea that disease itself can, and should, be fought and triumphed over at the expense of human sociality. And this project does not derive, as Kundera reminds us, from “rational attitudes”. Rather, it derives from a set of “fantasies, images, words and archetypes”. It derives from a sense of the “hardship and loss” of those who suffer. It derives from a feeling of being united in “pain and loss […], courage, hope and devotion”. It derives from “shared stories”. And it derives from particular images, such as that of the “unseen shadow” of Long Covid hanging over innocent children; or emotional archetypes, such as the “loss of a much-loved parent”, which when conjured in the mind instantly trigger powerful sensations. It is not a product of reasoned argument, but of shared feeling and the very knowledge that that feeling is in fact shared.
The importance of this tapestry and what it signifies should therefore not be underestimated. First of all, its existence and the terms in which it is framed suggest that we can expect very little indeed from the Covid Inquiry overall. Anyone who retained any lingering optimism that the Inquiry might challenge the dominant narrative (that ‘the science’ supported lockdowns and the government’s main error was in failing to lock down ‘harder and earlier’) can now banish it from their minds. The creation of this tapestry and the manner in which it is described by the commissioners and participants make the direction of travel abundantly clear: the Inquiry will be holding the Government to account only insofar as it caused “suffering and death” from COVID-19. This is because lockdownism is fundamentally a kitsch of compassion. Its proponents care deeply about preventing deaths and suffering from Covid, and know that they are part of a wider collectivity of likeminded people who also know that they all feel the same way. It is by definition not rational – and that is a feature, as they say, rather than a bug.
And second, it means that lockdown sceptics will remain entirely unwelcome at the hearings. An important feature of kitsch, Kundera tells us, is that it must endeavour to be monolithic: “Kitsch is the absolute denial of shit.” What he means by this is that kitsch must reject any sort of objection: “All answers are given in advance and preclude any questions.” The entertaining of genuine objections immediately causes the balloon of shared emotion to rapidly deflate, in other words, – because, of course, there is then an interjection of countervailing ideas, which always sits awkwardly alongside strong feeling. And the result is that those animated by a political kitsch cannot, and will not, approach matters with an open mind. Quite the contrary: their minds will already long ago have been made up – and the purpose of the Inquiry is preordained to confirm them.
The only consolation for said sceptics is that for all the talk of ‘commemoration’, the fact is that amongst the public at large the lockdowns are now long forgotten, and most people seem happy that they should remain so. The masks, hand-sanitisers and perspex screens have all but disappeared, and it is hard now to imagine that people would once again embrace a full-scale lockdown as a sensible policy for dealing with a viral outbreak – the costs are now widely understood to have been far too great, even if this is rarely explicitly stated. And for all of its apparent power at the height of the pandemic, the idea that human sociality should be sacrificed permanently to prevent the spread of disease has not taken root. People have now more or less reverted to the ‘old normal’ at least in terms of their view of sickness, and clearly do not want to live out the rest of their lives worrying about infection. For all that this newly commissioned tapestry will resonate with the true believers of lockdown kitsch, then, it is highly unlikely that it will capture the popular imagination. This is a cold comfort, because those responsible for the trashing of our society, education system, economy and commitment to civil liberties that took place in 2020 ought to get a comeuppance of a kind. And they won’t. But we have to be thankful for small mercies.
This article was first published on David McGrogan’s excellent Substack newsletter. You can subscribe here.
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“lockdown sceptics will remain entirely unwelcome at the hearings”. Like witnesses for the prosecution at a trial. Of course, the Inquiry is not a trial, and looks pretty close to being another form of political advertising to acquire more votes, unless they are honest and open minded.
“Consider libertarians, united with one another in being moved by the importance of freedom and knowing that they are bonded with fellow free spirits across the globe and across the ages who feel the same way.”
Er, not really. I mean, I would be glad to think that lots of other people shared my libertarian views because it would mean I was more likely to get left alone to get on with my life. But I don’t get off on “sharing a love for freedom”. I would think most libertarians don’t spend a lot of time worrying themselves about what other people think or feel, beyond their immediate family and close friends. It’s the other side who want to share.
Would love to understand the downvote…
Don’t worry, it is probably from someone who is hard of understanding.
Could be a slip, an oops but meant to tick up.
You can always tick the other thumb to undo.
Not sure – sometimes a phantom downticker (non-sceptic presumably) will downtick everything, but I’ve attracted the only one so far on this thread.
“The only consolation for said sceptics is that for all the talk of ‘commemoration’, the fact is that amongst the public at large the lockdowns are now long forgotten, and most people seem happy that they should remain so.”
I don’t find that a consolation – quite the opposite. I would very much welcome lockdowns being talked about a great deal, as it is now obvious even to the brain dead that the whole thing was a scam.
The best way to get lockdowns talked about would be a tapestry/memorial garden/travelling art exhibition remembering the vaccine fatalities/serious injuries, people who’ve died because diagnosis/treatment was delayed during lockdown, people who’ve lost their business/livelihood etc. even if such a display might be considered kitsch.
Andrew Crummy and the long covid kids……
I’m getting a bit emotional….in the rolling around on the floor sense……
BTW, has anyone seen Ammanuesis ( sp? ). I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him in ages. I miss your articles, if you’re reading!
The true purpose of the tapestry is not to comfort anyone but to cement the lie that covid was exceptional.
That tof is eloquent indeed.
Psychopathic, horse-faced ex-dictator of NZ has been given a Damehood. Because Clown World.
“So many of the things I am being recognised for were things that were a collective experience, that all New Zealand were a part of, and that I never felt came down to one single individual,” she said.
Ardern, who spent nearly six years as prime minister before her shock resignation earlier this year, has received the honour for services to the state.
“Over the years of being involved in the honours process, there have been a number of people that I’ve come across who have felt the same way, who I have convinced to take recognition.
“So for me this is about my family, my colleagues and all those who supported me to do that incredibly rewarding job.”
Check out this particular gem;
“And New Zealand is unique in that we do give space for people to be themselves. I think we’re a country that expects people to be authentic, we can sniff it out if you’re not.” Only if citizens comply with the ”single source of Truth” presumably…
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/06/05/jacinda-ardern-made-a-dame-in-kings-birthday-honours/
There is a slight plus to this Mogs – it shows beyond any doubt the utter contempt that TPTB have for their fellow citizens.
I heard about this proposed tapestry some time ago and the article takes the nonsense apart admirably. Personally I find even the suggestion of a bloody tapestry wilfully insulting. As the author makes clear we now know exactly what the outcome of the whitewash, whoops, enquiry will be.
It is not a consolation. I want everyone (OK, I’ll settle for the majority) to feel the same anger at being misled, lied to, suppressed and oppressed.
Yep, agree. It’s bad enough knowing that nobody will be held to account for the terrible decisions made which were a direct cause for so much misery ( on the contrary, see my post on Horse-face ), damage and lives ruined, none of the culprit’s heads will roll, but now they want to memory-hole the entire flaming thing! Not a chance.
I think what worries me the most! is the tone of resignation and acceptance that we or those of us with some weight and sway can’t change this ‘white tapestry’?
What of the recent headlines albeit after the horse has bolted in the Telegraph, the admirable journalist record in DS, scientists and medical practitioners who are now being listened to.
Don’t call me Shirley but surely their must be something we can collectively do to pressure and expose the rotten lot.
Let’s not hope but keep up the pressure.
If the official inquiry begins to look like a whitewash, perhaps we can set up a national citizens inquiry similar to Canada: –
https://nationalcitizensinquiry.ca/citizens-inquiry-canada/
Sounds promising, perhaps through DS maybe with the help of Andrew Bridgen, he knows a lot of contacts and detail . Or ?
Or GB news Or Doctors against it all?
we need to galvanise the allies we have even though they are varied.
Lord Sumption might be good for legal advice.
These people have forcibly kept me from seeing my parents between 2019 and 2022. And no much-loved parent who died will become alive again by this cheap and shoddy way of taking revenge for one’s own grief. Further, I won’t ever get these almost three years of my life back and neither will anybody else. This is an utterly disgusting attempt by the branch covidians to depict themselves once more as victims for being affected by perfectly natural circumstance like old and frail people dying while they were really perpetrators and accomplices in the greatest crime against mankind of our times.
These people with their overarching selfishness which demanded sacrificing everyone else for their own perceived benefit and because of their stupidity deserve some serious discomforting. This was not your finest hour. It was the finest hour of your victims and the only fine hour you’ll ever have is when they start to shovel earth on your coffin because then, mankind will finally be safe from you.
Yes I agree.
Someone with power weight influence must stop this Whitewash !!! They cannot be allowed to get to their coffins without being made accountable for their rotten ways.
With you RW. A fine and heartfelt piece.
Dumping this substack here as it’s covid related. Long read but simplifies some important research showing manufacturing issues in the bioweapon vials.
https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/bio-shocks-monday-june-5-2023-c-and
Thanks, nice read, you fellow dumper you.
Actually it was a troubling read as it just highlights the uncertainties for the future and makes you worry about loved ones who’ve been jabbed but I try not to dwell. However if things don’t improve on the excess deaths, illness, disability and birth rate fronts then the future looks bleak indeed.
Had to be dumped, couldn’t wait till tomorrow – I’d have forgotten by morning!
It is a disturbing read when you have skin in the game ie family & friends. I’m the only one in my immediate family who is unjabbed, I’m sure you can appreciate my level of worry, especially for my daughter.
It fits with Agenda 21 sustainability goals.
This kind of stuff is vomit inducing at best.
Dr McGrogan:
‘ “Kitsch,” as Kundera puts it, “is the aesthetic ideal of all politicians and all political parties and movements.” This is because kitsch is fundamentally about shared emotion.’
– No, it’s because kitsch is fundamentally about dishonesty and sentimentality. Politicians – especially the careerists of the modern age – love anything that provokes sentimentality as a reaction in the electorate (such as this wretched tapestry). It happens that sentimentality is an emotion – a degraded emotion – that is indeed shared among vast numbers of people; but the fact of its being shared is a secondary consideration – and perhaps an irrelevant one – and isn’t an ‘ingredient’ of kitsch.
Dr McGrogan:
‘What makes something kitschy is not just the feeling one experiences from looking at it; it is that feeling combined with the awareness that the same feeling is collectively shared. When one is moved, one sheds a tear; kitsch inheres in the awareness that the rest of mankind is moved in the same way, and sheds a tear too.’
– Again, why is kitsch “fundamentally about shared emotion”? I don’t see the question of being “shared” as anything other than incidental, and no more relevant than when talking about any other term used in the language of art and design.
Dr McGrogan:
‘This creates a powerful bond that transcends space and time: when Bob looks at the Mona Lisa and is moved, and knows that anybody else from the past, present and future looking at the painting is moved in the same way, he knows that he is united with them in a swell of shared emotion despite it never being possible for them to have physically met.’
– The Mona Lisa is kitsch??? Naïve imitation? Insincere? Lowbrow? Poor quality? Not sure I agree! This tremendous work of art is apparently ‘kitsch’ only because of its appeal to a very large number of people – certainly not because it’s naïve, insincere, lowbrow etc. Gaudi is kitsch – Da Vinci somewhat less so. This tapestry is about dishonesty and sentimentality; it’s shared appeal is irrelevant.
What is the point of a tapestry? How can it convey the stupidity of the government response to covid? This worries me that this whole enquiry will be a waste of time and money whitewash, like most enquiries of this type are. It is time we had a proper mechanism for holding people to account for the damage done to our country. At the very least, Johnson, Hancock and anyone else involved in the covid stupidity, should be banned from ever offering themselves for election to parliament and without waiting for the next election be kicked out of parliament now. They should not be earning money at our expense after the damage they have caused.
“perspex screens have all but disappeared” alas not in my local corner shop, nor In Waitrose or other supermarkets. Costa in motorway services (bless ‘em) have got rid of the bloody monstrosities.